From Juvisy to Choisy-le-Roi via Lac Montalbot

Starting point and access: Juvisy station.
- RER - Line C, on the section between Paris and Etampes / Dourdan / Massy-Palaiseau.
- RER - Line D, on the section between Paris and Corbeil-Essonnes and the terminus of the section between Juvisy and Melun via Corbeil-Essonnes.
Take Exit 4 Seine / Rue de Draveil.

No signposting

(S) Turn onto Rue de Draveil, which starts at the corner of a bar. At the traffic lights, cross Rue Montessuy and follow Rue Jean Danaux to the left, which continues from it. Turn right onto this street and take the bridge over the Seine. On the other side, just before the sign marking the entrance to Draveil, go down a flight of steps on the right. Turn right again to go under the bridge.

Red and white markings

(1) Continue straight ahead along a path running parallel to the Seine and follow the^GR®2towards Vigneux station. Walk past a marina on your right and take the footbridge spanning its access channel (watch your step in wet weather). Then turn right with the path and walk alongside a fence on your left. Cross the narrow railway line of the leisure park. Immediately turn left onto a wide tarmac path and walk alongside a pond on your right.

No signposting

(2) At the end of the pond, turn left and stay on the tarmac path. Cross the railway line again, then follow the Seine on your left, ignoring the paths branching off to the right. The tarmac gives way to a hard-packed track. Take a footbridge over a channel (watch out for slippery conditions in wet weather) and you’ll come to a crossroads. Then take the^first track on the right (east-southeast).

Red and white markings

(3) Take the^first path on the left, rejoin the^GR®2and pass the Menhir de la Pierre à Mousseau. Continue straight ahead (north-east) on the main signposted path. At a junction (with steps on the right), go straight ahead and follow a waterway on your left (barge moored on the opposite bank). At the end, cross a branch of the waterway via a bridge, then continue straight ahead to reach a street (Rue Pierre Martin).

(4) Follow the street to the left. Go round a roundabout on the left and take the^first left, still on Rue Pierre Martin. Go straight on and cross Rue Pierre Rossignol on the left.

No signposting

At the junction just before a railway bridge, turn right onto a small tarmac path lined with street lamps. You will come out onto a street; follow it to the left until you reach Vigneux-sur-Seine station.

For the rest of the route, up to (10), see the warning and the suggested alternative in the practical information section.

(5) Continue straight ahead and walk past the bus station. Cross a road and follow it to the right. At the corner of a shop selling exotic goods, turn left. Walk past a small car park at the foot of a block of flats and continue along a gravel path. At a green metal gate, follow a path to the left to reach the shore of Lac Montalbot (marked ‘Fosse’ on the map).

(6) Walk along the lake on your left, following the path. At the end of a boules court on the right-hand side, turn right across a lawn. Join a tarmac path and follow it to the left. Pass a chicane and turn immediately left to continue along a path as close as possible to the lake. At the end, turn right, cross a small car park, come out onto a street and follow it to the left.

(7) At the roundabout, go straight on and follow Rue de la Longueraie, preferably on the right-hand pavement. You will then pass through an industrial estate (admittedly not the most pleasant part of this walk). At the junction (with a memorial stone on the left), go straight on, pass under the railway bridge and walk along a lawn on your right. At the next junction, continue straight on, still on Rue de la Longueraie.

(8) At the end, turn left into a dead-end street (Chemin du Port Brun, signposted further on). At the^first junction (not shown on the OSM map), turn left, still on Chemin du Port Brun. Go through the tunnel under the railway tracks. At the exit, follow the cycle signs to the right, at the foot of the railway tracks on the right-hand side.

(9) After a hairpin bend, take the right-hand lane and cross the bridge over the Yerres at its confluence with the Seine. Continue along the Quai de Seine and pass under a road bridge. Start crossing the car park at Villeneuve Saint-Georges station and head right towards the station entrance.

Red and white + red and yellow markings

(10) Continue along a tarmac path as close as possible to the railway tracks (on the right) and follow the car park on your left. The path, lined with pollarded trees, continues between the Seine, below on the left, and the railway tracks. Continue along a street and then along a concrete path (No. 14) reserved for cyclists and pedestrians. Go straight on between a wire fence on the left and the D138 road on the right.

(11) Pass Villeneuvre-Triage station and continue on the left-hand pavement of the D138. Take the^first left, Allée Charles Benoist. At the end, continue along concrete path no. 14. Keep going straight on, as close to the river as possible, and ignore all turn-offs to the right.

(12) Go under the railway bridge and continue along the towpath, which alternates between a compacted track and a concrete path, with a short wooden section. Pass a sort of archway and continue as close as possible to the Seine to quickly reach a second archway.

(13) Briefly leave the marked path and go down a flight of steps opposite (the official^GR® and^GRP® route, to be taken in the event of flooding, is just above). Follow the path along the banks of the Seine. Pass a chicane (a reminder of the 1910 flood) and continue for a few metres on a wooden surface. Then take a wooden jetty on the left. Continue along the towpath, which is entirely wooded (take care in wet weather). Ignore the^first flight of steps on the right and climb the^second, at the end of the towpath. Continue along a pedestrian quay (houses on the right-hand side).

Red and yellow markings

(14) At the foot of the road bridge, climb a flight of steps on the right. At the top, turn left and cross the Seine via the bridge.

No markings

Before the bridge crosses the railway tracks, go down a ramp on the left towards the RER C. Walk along the railway tracks on your right, pass under a small road bridge and you will immediately reach the entrance to Choisy-le-Roi station (E).

Train timetables: check the Transilien website.

For motorists:
Both stations are located on the same section of RER Line C: park your car at one of the two stations and make a return journey by train.

Hiking boots are recommended in wet weather.

No water points identified along the route. Bars, restaurants and shops near the departure and arrival stations, as well as at stations along the way.

A detailed map is required (at the very least the one accompanying this description).

Warning and alternative route:
Between (7) and (8), the route passes through an industrial estate that is far from picturesque. It is possible to avoid this rather unpleasant stretch by taking the RER D from Vigneux-sur-Seine station (5) to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges station (10). Take a train towards Paris, Villiers-le-Bel or Creil and get off at the first station after a 4-minute journey. At Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, take the exit towards the Quais de Seine car park. This will save you around 4.4 km of walking.

Hike completed by the author on 23 December 2020.

- Port aux Cerises and its large park, between (1) and (3).
- Menhir de la Pierre à Mousseau (3).
- Lac Montalbot, created by filling in a former sandpit, between (6) and (7).
- Towpath along the Seine, starting from (10).